Building a loyal customer following to expand your business and make more sales is ideal, but it is not the only way you achieve success. The happiness and loyalty of your employees matter just as much and can have just as big an impact on the success of your business.
Happier employees will naturally work better and be more productive, which means they will deliver better customer experiences and be more motivated to help the company achieve its goals.
But how do you improve employee experience and employee happiness?
There are likely many ways to do this, but one of the best ways is to create a more positive company culture that supports employees and values their mental health and well-being.
How Company Culture Impacts Employee Mental Health
Mental Health America conducted a study called Mind the Workplace that looked at the correlation between company culture and employee well-being and engagement. And what they found was that company culture can impact employee mental health.
Findings from the Mind the Workplace report showed that 50% of workers said that they are more likely to engage in unhealthy behaviors to cope with workplace stress, and 66% said that workplace issues negatively affect their sleep. Additionally, 61% of respondents said their supervisors do not check in on their needs, 54% said they were not comfortable reporting issues to human resources or management, and 55% reported they were afraid to take a day off to take care of their mental health.
This indicates that negative company culture — primarily one that does not support open and safe communication or employee appreciation — can significantly impact employee satisfaction and their overall happiness and well-being.
Findings from the report also showed that poor workplace culture can affect employee retention rates — with almost half of respondents saying they look for a new job several times a week when they are not satisfied with their current company. In contrast, prioritizing and supporting employee well-being can improve productivity, collaboration, engagement, communication, and retention. It can also reduce the overall stress of employees so they can better manage their mental health.
How To Create a Company Culture That Supports and Values Employee Mental Health
Often, when a company is experiencing issues with retention and productivity, they assume it is the result of a lack of innovation. As such, they typically look towards satisfying employees and improving innovation by investing in new technology, like better software and upgraded devices. However, fancy tech won’t solve workplace culture issues that negatively impact employees.
If your company is struggling, you should look first at your internal workplace practices and how they do or don’t support your employees and their well-being. And though buying shiny new toys for your employees isn’t going to fix the underlying issue, healthier and more ethical workplace practices can. Luckily, there are a few different ways you can work toward accomplishing this goal:
Measure Employee Happiness
Before you make changes to your workplace culture, it’s important to understand how to assess the happiness of your employees. In other words, you need to dig deeper to first identify the exact problems that are making your employees unhappy before you can start trying to make improvements.
To measure employee happiness, solicit direct feedback from multiple avenues. Send out surveys, have managers ask for feedback from their teams, and make sure there are ways for employees to leave feedback anonymously. Look into employees’ performances and pay attention to how they behave at work.
Measuring happiness in more than one way will give you a more complete picture of how your employees are feeling. You can then use the information you learn from your investigation to determine what improvements need to be made and how best to make them.
Create a Safe Space for Open Communication
Once you’ve measured the happiness of your employees and gained a better understanding of what the issues are, you can start making changes to create a more positive workplace culture. One of the first steps to doing this is by creating a space that allows for more open communication.
Keep in mind that communication is a two-way street. This means your managers and supervisors need to start communicating better and they also need to be open to feedback and communication from employees. Be sure to make more room not only for communication but also for active listening.
Not only that, but leaders within the company should also encourage employees to communicate and lead their own discussions. This promotes confidence and can help drive productivity and engagement.
Provide Outlets for Employees to De-Stress
Helping with stress management is a great way to show your employees you care about their well-being. Outlets for de-stressing can include gym memberships, game rooms, company gardens, walking paths, in-office yoga classes, meditation sessions, and more. There is no single, right way to help employees relax — it’s worth exploring different options until you find something that works well for your workplace.
Understandably, many companies avoid these things out of fear that their employees will abuse them and waste their time. But good employees know better than to spend their entire work day in the game room, for example. And in the end, employees are more productive when they have more opportunities to blow off steam. These outlets can even improve their creative thinking and help with innovation.
Recognize Good Work
Another great tip for improving company culture and boosting the mental health of your employees is to take the time to recognize, appreciate, and celebrate their hard work.
Your employees might actually enjoy their job and have what they need to do good work, but if that work goes unnoticed, they may start to feel underappreciated. When employees feel underappreciated, they may start to wonder what the point of their job is. They may even start looking into other jobs where their hard work will be more recognized.
Leaders in your company need to speak up more when they recognize quality work. This can be done by offering bonuses and rewards, but it’s also simply a matter of managers offering kind words or recognition, like “thank you for all your hard work” or “you did an excellent job on that difficult project.”
Offer Mental Health Benefits and Encourage Self-care
Showing your employees that you care about their well-being isn’t just about improving what happens in the workplace — it’s also about showing an interest in their well-being outside the workplace. Your employees are human beings with needs and personal lives that exist beyond the office and it’s important to recognize this.
To genuinely improve the well-being of your employees, you can also offer mental health benefits and encourage them to take care of themselves outside the workplace. Covering mental health services as a part of health benefits, for example, is a great way to do this.
You can also encourage them to practice self-care at home and build better habits in their daily lives (as long as you’re also able to maintain professional boundaries, of course). Offering more flexible work schedules can also help employees make time for self-care and allow them to live healthier, more balanced lives.
Final Thoughts
The bottom line is that the more you treat your employees like human beings with needs, the happier and more satisfied they will feel in the workplace. And the happier your employees are, the more productive and engaged they will be, which can significantly improve the overall performance and culture of your company.
